Transcript food label
Understanding and using food labels What information is on a food label? What information must be on a food label? High in fibre Source of iron Focus on ingredients • The ingredients list tells you what is in the food. • The ingredients are given in order, with the largest ingredient first and the smallest last. • Any allergens in the food are highlighted in the ingredients list. • The amount of some key ingredients has to be given. Focus on allergens • Allergic reactions can be very serious. • 14 foods and substances that commonly cause allergic reactions are highlighted – e.g. in bold - in the ingredients list, for example wheat, nuts and eggs. • If the allergen is not obvious it will be listed in brackets after the ingredient, for example fromage frais (milk). List of allergens Cereals containing gluten • Soybeans (e.g. wheat, barley) • Milk • Crustaceans (e.g. prawns, crab) • Celery • Molluscs (e.g. clams, mussels) • Mustard • Eggs • Sesame • Fish • Lupin • Peanuts • Sulphur dioxide • Nuts • Focus on nutrition • Nutrition information is given on most prepacked foods for energy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt, and it is always in this order. • Nutrition information is usually given in a table on the back of the pack. • Sometimes there will be additional nutrition information, for example on fibre or vitamins and minerals. • The information is always per 100 grams but can also be per portion. • Sometimes Reference Intakes are also given – these will always be values for an average adult Focus on nutrition (voluntary) • Labels often repeat key nutrition information on the front of pack. This usually: - is for a portion of the food - includes the % reference intake. • Labels can show energy on its own, or energy, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt. • Some labels will also be coloured red, amber or green to help you know whether this is a high, medium or low amount. • The labels help you to easily check, compare and choose foods based on their nutrition. Focus on nutrition claims A nutrition claim tells you about the amount of nutrient in that food. The nutrient levels are defined by law, e.g. ‘high in fibre’ means the product must have at least 6 grams per 100 grams of fibre. The exact level of the nutrient must be given in the nutrition table. Focus on health claims A health claim tells you the impact a nutrient has on your health. If a health claim is general, like ‘good for you’, then somewhere on pack it must tell you why. Health claims have to be assessed and approved by the European Food Safety Authority to make sure they are truthful and based on scientific evidence. Only approved health claims can appear on pack or on advertising. Spotlight on sugars • Sugars in food come from different sources. • Some is naturally present like the sugars in milk, fruits and vegetables. • Some is added to the food like the sugars in cakes or cordial. • The sugars value in the nutrition table on the label tells you the TOTAL sugars from all of these different sources. • If you want to know what types of sugars are in the food then this will be in the ingredients list. Resources visit visit download download FDF labelling web pages Food Information to Consumers Regulation – the legislation that covers what must appear on a food label. Includes nutrition labelling and allergen labelling requirements Government guidance on the Food Information to Consumers Regulation Food Standards Agency leaflet: ‘Buying food when you have a food allergy or food intolerance’ visit download Understanding Food Labels – Food Standards Scotland's consumer guidance Guidance on how to create a front of pack nutrition label, including how the colour code is defined visit Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations – the legislation which sets out when a claim can be made visit The list of authorised nutrition and health claims can be found within the EU register download Please note: We are happy for you to use this resource as part of a learning activity but it shouldn't be used for financial gain or to promote other programmes. Government guidance on Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations